All companies need to be concerned with issues related to compensation, benefits, training, employee retention, talent attraction and generational agility. Founded by Nicole Martin, HRBoost has built its reputation on partnering with business leaders to achieve corporate goals while maintaining the integrity and delivering outstanding results. “We serve businesses spanning over multiple sectors; these include Professional Services, Non-Profit Organizations, High Tech, Manufacturing, Staffing firms, Hospitality, and Healthcare,” says Nicole.
Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between World’s Leaders and Nicole Martin:
Brief our audience about your journey as a women entrepreneur. What challenges have you had to face to reach where you are today?
A self-professed “country girl in disguise,” Nicole Martin grew up in Montana, where, she says, “Everyone knows you and greets you on the street.” It is my number one responsibility to empower my team of Boosters, invest in ongoing education, tools and resources to optimize my team. I have faith that they will in turn delight our clients. I was truly humbled when after years of serving on the Advisory Board and being part of a winning organization in my prior roles, my own company took the stage of Best & Brightest ®Companies to Work For in Chicago in 2020.
Describe HRBoost’s offerings that address the need of your customers.
We have specialized experience in providing values to small and middle-sized companies, which, unlike their large-company counterparts, can often lack the time and resources to build infrastructure and processes that are beyond core business objectives. But, every business needs to have a competitive edge in today’s economy. Both small and large companies need to attract, develop and retain the best talent for their organizations while complying with the everchanging maze of state and federal regulations.
Our clients are typically from high growth businesses with 50-250 employees. Our model is to meet the clients wherever they are thus we provide full-service embedded HR support, a project to project support, culture design and management training, employee programs and assessments, virtual support, and phone support.
Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in the human resources industry through your expertise in the industry?
Nicole is an internationally renowned speaker and author. She is a dynamic and empowering consultative leader and a futurist skilled in helping organizations to meet their strategic objectives. In recognition of her complete commitment to professional excellence as well as her community, Nicole has been honoured by multiple organizations and most recently as a 2016 Enterprising Women of the Year Champion by Enterprising Women Magazine, a 2017 Excellence in Business Award winner, and a Mirror Review enlistee of, 20 Impeccable Women in Business recognition in 2017.
As a highly regarded and sought after expert, her knowledge and advice have been featured in newspapers and magazines throughout the country. Recent publications, in which she has been seen, include Forbes.com, the Daily Herald Business Ledger, and Fast Company. She is the author of the books, The Talent Emergency, The Human Side of Profitability, No Fear Negotiation for Women(August 2019), and The Power of Joy and Purpose. She is also the author of the chapter “Emotionally Speaking” in the book titled Leading from the Heart. In addition, Nicole is the host of the internet show HR in Fast Lane.
What are the challenges you and your team at HRBoost come across in your day-to-day operations?
I think the initial challenges of being a CEO are many. One needs human capital and financial capital to scale and grow. Many will not grow because they are not investing in talent, and often it is the CEO’s job to bear debt. I made a calculated risk to invest in my talent and invest in my bench strength. In the early years, I was reacting to my business, and as a mother and wife, it can be a challenge to orchestrate work-life integration. I look back and realize that when I put down a process, hired capable talent, and disappeared to let them work, the process proved through; and now, we can do it again, and again, and again. You must trust the people you hire, and you must trust the process. When it is time to take a calculated risk, you invest and do what you can to increase the odds.
Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives HRBoost.
We serve businesses spanning multiple sectors; these include Professional Services, Non-Profit Organizations, High Tech, Manufacturing, Staffing firms, Hospitality, and Healthcare. Our clients are typically from high growth businesses with 50-250 employees. Our model is to meet the clients wherever they are thus we provide full-service embedded HR support, a project to project support, culture design and management training, employee programs and assessments, virtual support, and phone support. I am honoured to lead a high-performance team of HR leaders who partner with our business clients to meet them wherever they are on their journey, to being the best place to work. We have experienced tremendous growth, and proudly nearly every client has been sourced through word of mouth. Our appeal and success are due to our dedication to every client.
Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for HRBoost?
I feel it is imperative to get hands-on experience doing what you seek to learn. Make sure it brings you joy before investing time, energy and dedicating your life to it. Enjoy the journey and be prepared to learn, unlearn, and relearn. Surround yourself with people who inspire and support you but also don’t patronize you. Remember, even if it gets harder or takes longer, stay diligent. Anything you love will be worth it.
HRBoost recently engaged a partner to be the HR Expert on Demand and this truly takes the bench strength to small businesses across the country via phone. While they prefer in-person like everyone these days we have gone digital. Thus, our borders are expanding too. I hire from other states, and our clients in Chicago have taken us with them to other states.
Quote: “It is our Vision at HRBoost to bring JOY and PURPOSE to PEOPLE through their Work. It is how we serve our clients and the people that choose to join up on their visions. We live it at HRBoost and believe everyone deserves the same opportunity.”
